Apparatus for manufacturing phonographic disks



Oct. 26, 1943. A. 8. ST. HILAIRE APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURINGPHONOGRAPHIC DISKS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1940 INVENTOR W E N RO T T A 1943- A. 8. ST. HILAIRE 2,332,946

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PHONOGRAPHIC DISKS Filed June 29, 1940 eSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 56622 5 5t. Hz'igzzre ATTORNEYS 4 1943- A. B.s1". HlLAlRE 2,332,946

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PHONOGRAPHIG DISKS l iled June 29, 1940 eSheets-Sheet 4 3&8.

INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Oct. 26, 1943. A. B. 51". HlLAlRE APPARATUS FORMANUFACTURING PHONOGRAPHIC DISKS Fil ed June 29. 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5umus ATTORNEYS 26, 1943. 51'; HlLAlRE 2,332,946

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PHONOGRAPHIC DISKS Filed June 29, 1940 6Sheet s-Sheet 6 INVENTORQ ATTORN EYS Patented on. as, 1943 APPARATUSFOR. MANUFACTURING rnonooaarmo DISKS 'Albert B. St. Hilaire, Paris,France; vested mule Allen Property Custodian Application June 29, 1940,Serial No. 343,178

8 Claims; .This invention relates to the manufacture of phonographicdisks, and has for its object certain' improvements in the apparatus formanufacturingcoated phonographic disks; which may thereafter be used forrecording and reproducing sound in a conventional manner.

It has been-the practice heretofore to make direct recordingphonographic disks by .coating blanks, such as aluminum, zinc, papercardboard, and the like, in the following ways: the disks, containingholes in their centers, are mounted on a rod with spacers betweenadjacent blanks. While the rod is horizontally disposed, the lower halfof the disks is submerged in a body of coating composition. The .rod isrevolved, thereby coating the disks on both sides. The disks are thenwithdrawn from the body of coating composition, and the rotation iscontinued until the coating on the disks hardens to a sufficient extent;after which they are dried. According to another method, the blank disksare sprayed with the coating composition. In accordance with a thirdmethod, the coating composition is dropped onto the disks, near theircenters, while they are rotated. This rotation tends to spread thecoating composition laterally across the face of the disks. These threecustomary methods of coating disks leave much to be desired, because notone of the methods assures an even and. smooth coating of uniformthickness; with the result that. difficulties are encountered, not onlyin the recordation of sound, but in its reproduction.

Thus, an uneven thickness of coating on the disks causes the cuttingmeans employed in the recordation of sound to jump up and down whenpassing over uneven rid'ges or swirl marks, which in turn causes deepand shallow grooves that im pair sound reproduction qualities. 'Anuneven thickness of coating also results in uneven drying, and thusproduces a non-homogeneous surface. Disks with an uneven coating usuallyhave an undesirable scratch noise. From the View? point, of economy, onuneven coating is objectionable because the thinnest portion of thecoating must be sufficiently thick to record in, and the excess coatingis therefore wasted. Uneven coatings also obscure defects in the disks,making inspection for serious imperfections difficult or well-nighimpossible.

As a result of my investigations, I have discovered improvements in themethod of manudisk may be given a smooth, even coating of substantiallyuniform thickness, such as has not heretofore been obtained on materialof the thickness required for use in recording. This is accomplished ina manner radically different from the methods heretofore employed.

In the practice of the present invention, a series of blank disks aresuccessively placed on a practically imperforate band, the band beingwider than the disks so as to provide a substantial amount of uncoveredband immediately around each disk resting thereon. The band and disksare passed horizontally at a uniform and steady rate of speed under afeeding hopper containing a suitable coating. composition, such aslacquer, the hopper extending laterally across the disks and at leastover a portion of the uncovered band beyond both sides of each disk.

Thedisks are maintained at a predetermined and uniform distance from thebottom of the hopper. Coating lacquer is steadily discharged from thehopper as the disks pass thereunder. The viscosity and the amount ofcoating lacquer discharged from the hopper are such as to completelyfill the gap between the disks and the bottom of the hopper withoutflowing out of the side of the hopper counter to the direction of travelof the disks, s6 that a coating of substantially the thickness of thegap, is evenly spread across the top surface of each disk as it leavesthe hopper; while the portion of the band immediately surrounding eachdisk is coated to a thickness substantially equal to the combinedthickness of the blank disk and its coating.

, The coated disks embedded on the band are permitted to travel asufiicient distance to clear the hopper, after which they are separatedfrom the coated portion of the band at its discharge end, and are thensuitably dried.

In addition to the method outlined, the invention also contemplates atreatmen'tof the blank disks with a wetting agent miscible with thelacquer while in transit on the band to condition .the surfaces for thecoating and to inhibit the coated disk.

portion of the disk. The projecting portion of the coated disk isgripped and the disk propelled forwardat a speed somewhat greater thanthat of the traveling band, to separate the two coatings along theperimeter of the, rear portion of the A substantially constant supply ofcoating lac-- q'uer i maintained in th feed hopper which is suflicientin amount to provide 'enough hydraulic pressure to straighten out slightbends in the disks as they travel on the band under the hopper. Thisinsures an even coating of substan-- tially uniform thickness across thetop of the disks as they emerge from under the hopper and then tend toassume their original slightly bent condition.

These and other features of the invention will be better understood byreferring to the attached drawings, taken in conjunction with thefollowing description, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of an apparatus illustrative of apractice of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the coating machine shownin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4 of the top of thefeed hopper of the coating machine;

- Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial end elevation of the coating machine shown moreparticularly in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the disk separating meansof Fig. 2 showing a coated disk about to be pulled forward;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged end elevation in part of Figs. 6 and 7;

Fig. .9 is another enlarged sectional elevation Fig. 11 is an enlargedend elevation in part on v the line 11-11 of Fig.

Fig. -12 is a sectional detail at the bottom of the feed hopper, showinghow objectionable air may be entrapped while a disk is being coated;

Fig. 13 is 'a sectional detail similar to Fig. 12, but showing howcoating material may flow forward of the feed hopper and impair thecoating on a disk; and

Fig. 14 is a sectional detail similar to Figs. 12 and 13, but showingthe proper manner of spreading the coating material from the feed hopperonto the disks.

The apparatus shown comprises apair of phonographic disk coatingmachines It) and II disposed at opposite sides of the charging end of adrying tunnel l2. The coating machines, see Fig. 1, comprises a frame l3in which a roll of band paper [4 is appropriately supported. A band l5extends upwardly from the roll, around a pair'of round tension bars l6and I1, thence horizontally across the top of a table I8 to the otherend of the frame, around a pair of appropriately supported rollers l9and and then laterally under the table and across a scraper blade 2|,between a pair of drivin ollers 22 and 23 to a take-up roll 24. I

Driving rollers 22 and 23 are appropriately geared to form a positivedrive through roller 23; these two rollers, when in gear, are adapted topull the band 15 from the roll 14, across the table top. I 8'and thescraper blade 2|.

A pulley 43 is mounted on the shaft 42 and is fitted with a driving belt44 connecting with a pulley'45 attached to a shaft 46 which drives theband take-up roll 24. Provision is made for taking care of the slippagethat occurs in the operation of belt 44 around pulley 45, because of thevarying diameter of the take-up roll 24 as the band l5 unwinds from thefresh roll of paper M. This consists of a lever 41 pivoted at 48 to across member 49 on the frame 13. .One end of the lever is provided witha roller 50 adapted to place the lower portion of the belt 44 undertension as a weight 5| attached to the other end of the lever forcesthat end of the lever downwardly.

In order to stop the travel of the paper band IS in case of emergency,or for any. other reason,

the apparatus shown is provided with a bifurcated lever 52, extendingunder shaft'55 on which the upp r roller 23 is mounted, and pivoted atpoint I pression spring 60, thereby disengaging driving rolls 23 and 22.When thi occurs, movement of the paper band i5 ceases, because theslippage of belt 44 is so great as not to rotate the take-up roll 24.

Tension bar I6 is permanently aflix'ed at both ends tothe frame, whereastension bar I! is fixed at one end and is adjustable with respect to thetable H3 at the other end by means of an adjusting screw 6!. Roller I9is permanently afiixed to the frame at the other end of the table l8,whereas roller 20 is self-centering so that the paper band is centeredas it leaves the roller 19 and is taken up on the roll 24. Forthispurpose roller 20 is mounted in a U-shaped frame 82, at the centerof which an upright stud 63 is attached. The stud is in turn mounted ina bearing 64 suitably attached to th cross member 65 of the frame. Thefeeding means, see Figs. 2 and 4, for the coating liquid comprises acontainer 66 appropriately supported on a pair of uprights B7 suitablyattached to the cross members 49 and 58 of the frame. The container isprovided with lugs 68 adaptedto fit onto the top of brackets 69 attachedto the uprights. The discharge end of the container is provided with aspout I8 projecting through an opening H in a feed hopper 12. The rearof the hopper is provided with a cross plate 13 having an upper and alower pair of lugs 14 and 15 at its sides through which a pair of rodslliextend, the lower ends of the rods being mounted in and supported bythe frame members 58. Each rod 16 is provided with a compression spring11 mounted between the table l8 and the lower lugs 15. The upper ends,of the rods are provided with micrometric screws 18, so that the bottomof the hopper may be accurately spaced above the table l8.

Before mounting the container over the feed hopper, the opening of thespout ID. is covered with a closure 19 suitably attached to a collarwith a set screw 8| by means of a pair of rods 82 having extensionportions 83 beyond the collar, the upper end of each being provided witha head to retain a compression spring 84 between it and the collar.After the spout I0 is pushed into the top of the feed hopper, the setscrew 8| is loosened, and the collar 80 drops onto the top 85 of thefeed hopper thereby closing the opening 1 I. The set screw is thentightcentrally thereof. :The cams are provided with a shaft I85. theends of which are adapted to fit into a pair of supports I having aseries of spaced notches I08, as shown, each of which 8. rod 89extending through the top of the hop "J Per; the outer end of the rodbeing secur d to a lateral arm 80 pivoted at El to a bracket 92securedto the top of the hopper. An air valve 93 is attached to thebracket, and the valve has a stem 94 attached to the lateral arm. The.valve is provided with a port 85 for the entrance of air, and the lowerend of the valve is connected with a tube 93, the other end of whichfits into the top of the container 66. As the lacquer leaves thecontainer t3 and passes into is intended for. a given sized cam, thesize of the cam in turn depending onthe sizeof disk to be coated. Thesupports are in turn attached to a cross bar iili extending across therear of the machine, the ends of which are provided with a pair ofvertical arms I08 suitably pivoted at I89 to the table. The verticalarms carry a pair of brackets IIO protruding laterally across the, rearvertical members III of the frame. The brackets are in turn providedwith a set screw lit which is adapted to be screwed throughthebracket'against the frame so as to swing the supports I05 upwardly ordownwardly to act. as a the feed hopper, a vacuum is set up in the upperportion of the container. sure a free flow of lacquer from thecontainer, it is important that this vacuum be broken at intervals. Theinstant construction permits the entrance of air into the top of thecontainer when the lacquer is lowered to a certain level 81 within thefeed hopper. When the float 88 reaches that level, the stem 9 opens port95 and outside air is promptly drawn through tube 96 into the top of thecontainer. The flow of lacquer to the feed hopper is resumed as thefloat rises and closes the port of the valve against further entrance ofair. This action is intermittent until the container 66 is emptied.

In order to in- Referring to Figs. 12, 13 and 14, the construction ofthe bottom of the feed hopper is shown form an acute angle with thetable I8.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 6 and 9, the apparatus shown includesa cleaning and wip-' ing mechanism comprising a roller I00 and one ormore stationary wiping membgs IOI suitably fitted in a pair of movablenotched brackets I02 attached to opposite sides of the table. I8,immediately in front of the feed hopper. As shown more particularly inFig. 6, the brackets I02 are supported by a pair of lateral arms I02pivoted at I02". In order to raise the cleaners and wipers above themoving band, when desired or necessary, the apparatusshown comprises ashaft I00 appropriately supported to the frame I3. The shaft is providedwith a pair of eccentric cams I00", and a lever NW. A pair of plungersIN is positioned directly above the cams, and .extend vertically througha pair of sleeves IIJI" attached to the frame. By turning the lever, thebrackets I02, and therefore the cleaners-and wipers, may be raised aboveand lowered to the .band. The roller and the wiping members areadvantageously provided with an absorbent medium, such as linen,artificial silk while in use.

Still referring to Figs. 2, 6 and 9. the apDa- I tus shown includes acoated disk removing mechanism comprising a pair of eccentric cams I03positioned at the discharge end of and at substantially the same levelas the table l8. and

leveling device for cams i03.

One end of the shaft I04 is provided with a pulley H5 equipped with anendless belt i i6 extending around a roller 20, and having a dependingloop portion fitted with a freely suspended pulley II'I to which aweight M8 is attached. The object of this weight is to form a frictiondrive and permits the registering or 10- eating of a notch H9 in eachcam I03; which, as will be shown below, is useful to the operator as avisual indicator, particularly when used in conjunction with a high spotI20 at -the opposite.

side of notch H9 in each of the cams. The perimeter portion of the mainportion of each cam travels at the same speed as the band, but the highspots I20 travel about 10% faster.

A roller I2I, at substantially the same level as table I8, extendssomewhat beyond the cams I03, and centrally thereof. This roller ismounted on a shaft I22 to one end of which is attached a pulley I23provided with an endless belt I24 fitting around roller I9. The belt isprovided with a loop at the lower portion of which is a freely suspendedpulley I25 carrying a weight I26. The function of the weight is to makethe belt serve as a friction drive. The shaft I22 is mounted at or nearLsv center on avertically disposed support I21 having a laterallyextending arm which is adjustably attached to a plate I28 by means of apair of set screws I29 extending through a slot. I3I in the lateral arm.The plate I28 in turn rests on a cross member I32, the ends of whichare-provided with a pair of arms I33 pivoted at I34 to the frame membersIII. The ends of the cross member areprovided with a pair of set screwsI35 b'earing against a pair of brackets I36 protruding from the framemembers III. This construction permits adjustment of the roller I 2Itoward or away from the table I8, as well as upwardly or downwardlytofacilitate the removal of coated disks of varicrosswise of the roller tomoisten it as desired.

Thescraperblade 2| is mounted in a funnel MI. The funnel is in turnappropriately supported on the upright 61 by means of a cross bar I42. Asuitable container I43 is placed portions of the cam onto the bracket.

movement forces the lugs I on the feed hopper 4 r under the funnel tocatch coating lacquer I85 scraped from the paper band by means ofscraper blade 2 I.

Movement of the band I5 may be promptly terminated by disengaging thegears of driving rollers 22 and 28, by lifting lever 52; but it is alsodesirable to terminate the discharge of coating lacquer from the feedhopper when 5 movement of the band I5 is terminated. To this end (seeFigs. 2 and 4), the structure includes means for dropping the bottom ofthe feed hopper squarely onto the band and the top of table I8; which issufficient to prevent escape of the coating lacquer. The means include across bar I15, the ends of which are attached to the up-- rights 61 by apair of brackets I16. A hearin Ill is secured to the top of the crosshas, centrally thereof; and is fitted with a crank I18. to one end ofwhich an eccentric-cam I19 is attached and suspended over a bracket I80attached to the front wall of the feed hopper. The feed hopper'may bedropped onto the band and table by turning thecrank and hence the raiseddownwardly on the compression springs II. To raise the hopper, the crankis again turned, compression on the springs is reduced, and they pushupwardly on the lugs.

The above described apparatus may be employed as follows in the practiceof the invention:

After the driving rollers 22 and 23 have been set ,into operation topropel the band l5 across the frame I3 a plurality of blank disks IIiI,I82,

- the invention the roller is kept moist with alcohol, one of thesolvents employed in the makin of the coating lacquer. The alcohol iskept in container I31 and is fed onto the roller 'as needed. The alcoholfunctions to clean the top surface of the disc, particularly withrespect to grease and similar impurities; and .the alcohol likewisefunctions as a wetting agent for the disk and thereby conditions itsexposed surface for receiving the coating lacquer and having it adherethereto without the objectionable formation of bubbles, which are.injurious to the coated disk. The roller likewise functions to grip theblank disk and to hold it in position on the band as the disk movestoward and under the feed hopper I2.

In order to assure a perfectly clean surface on the disk, use is alsomade of the'wipers IIII. The disk is forced under and in contact withthe wipers, which function to clean the top surface of the disk of dustand other foreign substances, while at the same time wiping oft surplusalcohol deposited on the disk by roller I00.

=As just noted, the roller grips and holdslthe Thisenough hydraulicpressure to straighten out small bends frequently foundin the disks, sothat they may receive an even coating of substantially uniformthickness.

By means of micrometric screws A8, the gap between thebottom of the feedhopper and the paper band is carefully calibrated to assure the desiredthickness of coating on the disks. To

"assist in the formation of this coating of predetermined thickness, itis important that the lacquer be of homogeneous composition and that ithave a suitable viscosity. The upper limit of viscosity must be such asto permit a slow flow of the lacquer to iron or smooth out small irreguvlarities necessarily inherent in the process; while the lower limit ofviscosity must be such as not to permit any appreciable flow of thelacquer out of the sides of the hopper or under the disks by capillaryattraction. or counter to the direction of travel of the disk. If someof the lacquer should flow underneath the disk, it would unfit that sideof the disk for coating.

As the disk passes under the hopper a sufiicient amount of the lacqueris spread thereon to provide a coating I84 having a thicknesssubstantially the depth of the gap between the top of the blank disk andthe bottom of the hopper or doctor blade 99. The outside of therear wall98 of the hopper is maintained free of lacquer as the coated diskemerges from under the hopper, so as not to impair the evenness ofcoating due to creeping of lacquer up the wall. It is customary for theoperator, if necessary, to scrape disk in position as it moves under thefeed hopthat part of the wall clear of lacquer before a disk is passedunder the hopper.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate wrong methods and Fig. 14 illustrates aproper method of coating the disks. Thus, in Fig. 12, the coatinglacquer 86 is shown dropping onto a disk from the feed hop-' per in sucha manner as to leave a Wedge-like gap I90 which entraps air that becomesoccluded Fig. 13 on the other hand, illustrates what happens when thesurface of the disk is excessively wetted with alcohol, or when thelacquer is too thin, or when the disk does not pass under the feedhopper rapidly enough. The lacquer 86 hits the wetted surface of thedisk, spreads instantaneously and runs forward of the feed hopper,extending forward of the front wall 91 to form an overflow mass I93 oflacquer, which builds up on the outside of the wall; and this tends toproduce stringiness or unevenness of the coating on the disk. It is forthis reason that the operator keeps the outside surface of the wallscraped clean of lacquer, as shown in Fig. 14.

Fig. 14 illustrates a proper method of coating disks. In this case, thelacquer tends to flow toward the front of the feed hopper, but onlyproceeds to a convenient point under the front wall 91, such asindicated by the numerals I94, I95, I96, etc. When this occurs, air isnot entrapped in the lacquer on the disk, and the lacquer does not ofcourse escape to the front of the feed hopper. This happy result isobtained and disks are passed horizontally at a uniform.

and steady rate of speed, under the hopper while the disks aremaintained at a predetermined and uniform distance from the bottom ofthe hopper or doctor blade. The coating lacquer is steadily dischargedfrom the hopper as the disks pass thereunder. As indicated above, theviscosity and the amount of lacquer discharged from the hopper and thespeed of the band are such as to fill completely the gap between thedisks and the bottom of the hopper, so that a coating of substantiallythe thickness of the gap is evenly spread across the top surface of eachdisk as it leaves the hopper; while the portion of the band immediatelysurrounding each disk is given a coating I85 having a thicknesssubstantially equal to the combined thickness of the blank disk and itscoating. As the coated disk emerges from under the hopper, the coatingflows suiiiciently to even out minute irregularities on the surface.

The coated disk is appropriately separated from the coated portion ofthe band at its discharge end. For this purposeisee Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10and 11) the band is passed downwardly over roller l 9 at its dischargeend while the forwardportion of the coated but embedded disk continuesand is projected at the discharge end in a horizontal direction, awayfrom the downwardly moving portion of the band; so that the coatingI85on that part of the band is automatically and progressively severedor sheared from the coating I84 around the forward perimeter portion ofthe on the band at point I88 directly at the perim-' eter of the disk.It is imperative that this shearing action be sharp, uniform, andcomplete; and that it take place at the perimeter, and not appreciablyinside or outside of the perimeter of the disk. If the shearing actionshould take place inside the-perimeter, coating lacquer would of coursebe removed from the face of the disk and thus render it useless. If theshearing action should take place outside'of the perimeter of the disk,strings or shreds of lacquer would dangle from the edge of the disk andtend to swing or flow around the edge and adhere to the bottom of thedisk, and thus build up an incrustation of lacquer that would totallyunfit that side of the disk for further use. If the under side of thedisk had not previously been coated, the incrustations would make an'even and uniform coating impossible; and, if it had been previouslycoated, that side of the disk would of course be rendered useless.

Referring to Fig- 8,'the first disk I8I in the series. is shown withalmost its first half portion completely separated from the band, thusleaving a clean, ,uncoated almost semi-mircular surface area I Bl on theband where that part of the disk had formerly rested. The band coating Icontinues to adhere to the'band and surrounds the semicircular c'leanportion iii! of the band.

When almost the first halfof the coated disk passes over roller I9, andthe coating on almost the first half of the disk hasbeen sheared alongits perimeter, the high spots I20 ofthe cams i233 strike andfrictionally grip the inside of the forward portion of the disk, and,because the peripheral portions of that part of the cams,

travel at a greater speed than the remaining portion of the cam, thecoated disk is slightly lifted at its forward portion and the whole diskis suddenly pulled forward an appropriate distance I89 from the nextdisk I82 in the series.

When this occurs, the coating EM on the disk is severed along itsperimeter from the coating 585 on the band. This severing action extendsaround approximately the rear half of the disk IBI.

After the initial pull on the coated disk by the high spots I20 of thecams I03, the forward portion of the coated disk reaches and isdeposited on roller I2 I; thus providing in conjunction with the band anadequate support for the coated disk as it leaves the band, When thehigh spots carry the coated disk forward, a narrow open space I89 iscreated at both sides of the disk between its perimeter and the coatingI35 on the band, where the disk and band separate above the roller I9.After the coated disk strikes roller |2I, the disk is propelled forwardmore rapidly than the speed of the band, which action widens the gapl89-l89' as the disk continues to leave the band and thus reduces thechance of coating material seeping between the disk and band.

The coated band, after the coated disks are removed, passes downwardlyover rollers l9 and 20, laterally under the table across scraped blade2|, and between driving rollers 22 and 23 to take-up roll 24.Substantially all of the coating the drying tunnel. A supply of thesebars is kept at hand, and they are placed on the endless conveyor I44one by one, as needed.

Referring to Fig. 1, the bar I'IZis shown as supporting three coateddisks, for example, I8I, I82 and I83, on the endless conveyor I44 in thedrying'tunnel I2. If both coating machines I0 and II are simultaneouslyoperated, the coated disks from each are transferred in this manner afor drying. -One or the other coating machine may be used alone inconjunction with the drying tunnel. Whether one or two coating machinesare used, the speed of the coating machine or machines and the dryingtunnel are synchronized so that the drying tunnel may take care of thecoated disks as rapidly as they are transferred.

By the time the coated'disks have traveled from the charging to thedischarging end of the drying tunnel, the coating thereon is fairly wellto keepthe coated disks out of contact with one another; and the loadedracks are then placed in a drying chamber (not shown) where they arepermitted to stand until sufllciently dried out. If the disks have beencoated only on one side, they are then returned to the coating machine'to have their other side coated, in the same manner as above described;after which they are subjected to a similar drying operation in thedrying tunnel.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 288,916,

filed August 8, 1939.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for manufacturing phonographic disks, the improvement incoating machines comprising a frame, a flat table on the frame, a feedhopper supported above the table, means for passing a diskcarrying bandhorizontally across the top of the table from its blank disk chargingend, under the hopper, to the coated disk discharging end, and meansnear the discharge end of the table for frictionally gripping theunderside of the. coated disks and propelling them forwardto separatethe coated disks from the coated band, said means including an eccentriccam positioned at the discharge end of and at substantially the samelevel as the table.

2. In an apparatus for coating phonographic disks including a frame, aflat table on the frame, a feed hopper supported above the table andmeans for passing a disk-carrying band horizontally across the top ofthe table from its blank-disk-charging end, under the hopper, to itscoated-diskdischarging end including a roller at theblank-disk-discharging end over which the band passes; the improvementwhich comprises means for adjusting the position of the band withrespect to the top of the table as it travels across the table includingmeans for adjusting one end of the roller relative to the other end ofthe roller and to the table.

3. In an apparatus for coating phonographic disks including a frame, afiat table on the frame, a feed hopper supported above the table andmeans for passing a disk-carrying band horizontally across the top ofthe table from its blank-disk-charging end, under the hopper, to itscoated-disk-discharging end including a roller beyond the feed hopperaround which the band passes; the improvement which comprises a sec-,and roller beyond said first-named roller in the direction of travel ofthe band, pivotal means for causing said second roller tobeself-centering so that the band is centered as it leaves the first-namedroller.

4. In an apparatus for coating phonographic disks including a frame, aflat table on the frame, a feed hopper supported above, the table andmeans for passing a disk-carrying band horizontally across the top ofthe table from its blank-disk-charging end, under the hopper, to-

its coated-disk-discharging end including a roller at theblank-disk-charging end and a roller beyond the feed hopper around whichthe band passes; the improvement which comprises means at theblank-disk-charging end of the table for adjusting the position of theband with respect to the top of the table including means for ading saidsecond roller to be self-centering so that the band is centered as itleaves that roller.

5. In apparatus for applying coating to phonographic disks and the likecomprising a frame having a flat portion, -a conveyor band of' greaterwidth than the articles to be coated for conveying articles to be coatedover the fiat portion of the frame, means for advancing the conveyorband over the flat portion of the frame, coating-material-supply meanspositioned above the conveyor band and having an outlet transverse tothe direction of movement of the conveyor band of greater width than/the articles to be coated, so that the coating material from the outletis applied both to the articles and to the conveyor band, means adjacentthe discharge end of the flat portion of the frame for directing theband away from the disks thereon,

and means for engaging the respective coated disks after at least theforward halves thereof have been separated from the band and propellingthem forward at a speed greater than that of the traveling band toseparate their rear perimeter portions from the coating material on theband immediately adjacent thereto.

6. In apparatus for applying coating to phonographic disks and the likecomprising a frame having a fiat portion, a conveyor band of greaterwidth than the articles to be coated for conveying articles to be coatedover the flat portion of the'frame, means for advancing the conveyorband over the flat portion of the frame, coating-material-supply meanspositioned above the conveyor band and having an outlet trans-' verse tothe direction of movement of the conveyor bandof greater width than thearticles to be coated, so that the coating material from the outlet isapplied both to the articles and to the conveyorj band, means adjacentthe discharge end of the fiat portion of the frame for directing theband away from the disks thereon, and means for engaging the undersideof the respective coated disks after at least the forward halves thereofhave been separated from the band and propelling them forward at a speedgreater than that of the traveling band to separate their rear perimeterportions from the coating material on the band immediately adjacentthereto.

7. In apparatus for applying coating to phonographic disks and the likecomprising a frame having a flat portion, a conveyor band of greaterwidth than the articles to be coated for conveying articles to be coatedover the flat portion of the frame, means for advancing the conveyorband over the flat portion of the frame, coatingmaterial-supply meanspositioned above the conveyor band and having an outlet transverse tothe direction of movement of the conveyor band of greater width than thearticles to be coated, so that the coating material from the outlet isapplied both to the articles and to the conveyor band, means adjacentthe discharge end of the flat portion of the frame for directing theconveyor band away from the disks thereon, and means for engaging therespective coated disks after the conveyor band has begun to move awayfrom them and before they are completely separated from the conveyorband and withdrawing them from the conveyor band along their horizontalline of travel at a speed greater than that of their rate of travel onthe conveyor band, whereby the coated disks are separated from thecoating material on the conveyor band immediately adjacent theretobefore the coated disks are completely removed from the conveyor band.

8. An apparatus for coating phonographic disks as set forth in claim 6,in which the means adjacent the discharge end of the flat portion of theframe for engaging the underside of the 5 coated disks before theycompletely leave the conveyor band comprises a rotatable member.

' ALBERT B. ST.

